1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed, in general, to a bladder-molded fishing rod, and more specifically, to a bladder-molded fishing rod having an integrally formed support.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional tubular fishing rods are manufactured by wrapping an appropriate material around a steel mandrel and baking the wrapped mandrel in an oven until it is cured. After curing, the mandrel is removed and the rod is finished by conventional means. As such, conventional tubular fishing rods are restricted in design by the shape of the mandrel. In addition, such rods are hollow without any internal support to provide additional strength.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,237 discloses a one-piece fishing rod that attempts to improve on conventional fishing rods by using bladder molding to form the rod. However, the fishing rod taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,237 requires that an internal rib be loosely assembled inside an expandable rod sock along with two separate bladders. As a result, uniform pressure in both bladders is used to align the rib in the rod sock prior to and during curing. As such, an additional step of inserting the rib and bladder portions into the rod sock is required.
Therefore, there is a need for a bladder-molded fishing rod that is formed with an integral support where the integrally formed support may be more reliably located within the fishing rod while minimizing the assembly steps of the fishing rod.